Pacific Gas And Electric Company - V2G

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)Symbol: PCG -NYSE, headquartered in San Francisco, California in the United States is pioneering a new energy technology for the future involving the bi-directional interaction of electric vehicles with the electric utility grid called Vehicle To Grid (V2G) technology. In essence it is the utilisation of the significant electricity storage capacity of both plug-in hybrid and full electric vehicle’s batteries to store energy during ‘off peak’ hours.

The homeowner’s vehicle through its electric hook up connection becomes a potential source of electricity during electric grid peek demand situations, and during ‘off peak’ hours the vehicle's battery becomes a storage location for lower cost excess electricity. As companies like Pacific Gas and Electric generate more zero emissions Solar and Wind energy, there will be a greater need for V2G technology to ensure twenty-four hour supply and greater utilisation of sustainable energy resources.

In April 2007, during the Silicon Valley Leadership Group Alternative Energy Solutions Summit, PG&E demonstrated the V2G technology using one of their prototype Toyota Prius Plug-In Electric Hybrid Vehicles (PHEV), converted in partnership with Bay Area Air Quality Management District and Energy CS. Installing a more powerful lithium ion battery in the Prius, they were able to show how the car could reverse power appliances and home lighting systems directly off the vehicle itself as well as charge itself during low demand conditions. This was a first for a public utility and proved the capability of V2G technology.

PG&E’s Vehicle To Grid technology will create mutual energy billing relationships between the homeowner and the utility, whereby customers will be able to agree to receive credit on their monthly statement for energy drawn from their vehicles during peak demand periods. This concept will also create new industries in electric power management for the home and the car. Already the combination of home generated solar and wind electricity is making the relationships between some homeowners and electric utilities a mutually beneficial one.